Trekking leads Godolphin charge looks to emulate G1 Stradbroke feat

A four-horse team is primed to issue Godolphin’s challenge for a second successive G1 Stradbroke Handicap, the final G1 race of the Australian season, at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Headed by the defending Stradbroke champion and recent G1 Goodwood winner Trekking (Michael Cahill), the team is completed by Kementari (Ryan Maloney), Ranier (Larry Cassidy) and Exhilarates (Taylor Marshall) – and a victory by any of the quartet would come as no surprise to trainer James Cummings.

“For each of the four horses we accepted with to gain a start is extremely pleasing,” Cummings said.

“But what is even more pleasing is that they have come from four different form lines and they’ve had differing preparations.

“And there is a case to be made for each of them.”

Despite a wide gate and with topweight of 58.5kg, Trekking is the nominal leader of the Godolphin group, largely on the strength of his Goodwood win under the same weight over the G1 winners Gytrash and Lyre.

“Everything has unfolded well for him. The road journey back from Adelaide and Melbourne and then the trip to Brisbane was trouble-free.”

“He’s had a couple of lung-burning gallops and he’ll have a senior jockey, riding well and at full strength, in the saddle.”

“Obviously he’s drawn wide in a big field and I’m not sure what to make of that.

“But if you happened to land three-wide on the back of Dawn Passage you wouldn’t be unhappy.”

Since winning last year’s Stradbroke, Trekking has won races at G2 and a G1 level, his latest coming at the third run of his preparation.

Kementari comes to Saturday’s race having been put back into training after a 12-month break, and at the fifth run of his campaign, the past two in Brisbane.

“It would have been lovely to see him be a little more competitive in his Brisbane races, But who’s to say he wouldn’t have if they’d been over 1400m” Cummings said.

“He’s much better off at the weights here than he has been in his four runs back.”

“My attitude is to let the doubters doubt.”

The revelation of the group has been Ranier, who is two-from-two this time in and racing in the best form of his life.

“Ranier is in such fighting spirit. The way he attacked the line first-up at Randwick showed a high level of desire and then he settled much closer at Rosehill and beat two good horses.”

For Cummings, the sentimental favourite could well be Exhilarates who is to be ridden by the lightweight Taylor Marshall.

“The story with her will be the jockey. His father John rode a Melbourne Cup winner for my grandfather, so there would be a nice bit of romance about him winning on this filly.”

Exhilarates has more than sentiment to recommend her with her trainer more than happy to run her again seven days after she finished second at Doomben.

“One of the things I’ve always had in mind with Exhilarates is her ability to back-up off a seven-day break.”

“She did it in the Magic Millions which was probably her best win at the end of a robust 2YO campaign.

Godolphin’s weekend Stakes-race representation is completed by Coruscate (Tommy Berry )and Viridine (James McDonald) who run in the Listed Bob Charley Stakes at Randwick in which both appear to have outstanding chances.

“Their work has been tremendous,” Cummings said.

“Coruscates was well-prepared to compete on the heavy track last time and she meets both the second and third horses better at the weight for having beaten them.”

Earlier, class and determination carried Trekking to the second G1 victory of his career over one of the best The Goodwood Handicap fields in decades at Morphettville on Saturday, 16 March.

In a performance that gave Godolphin its fourth, worldwide G1 win for the year and set the stage for another top-level success, Trekking barged into the clear at the 200m to set out after the favourite Gytrash who had sprinted clear.